Colours of patriotism

Patriotic films are Bollywood’s way of reminding the nation of a past
they cannot afford to forget, writes M. L. Dhawan

BY taking up nationalistic or patriotic themes, filmmakers have done a commendable job of instilling a sense of patriotism in a generation, which is separated from the freedom struggle by six decades. Some landmark films, set against the backdrop of India’s freedom struggle, have gone a long way in defining the national identity and making the present generation realise that no price is too high to defend the honour of our country.

Based on Manini Chatterjee’s book Do And Die: The Chittagong Uprising:1930-34, Ashutosh Gowarikar’s latest film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey brings alive a forgotten chapter from the Indian history. On 18 April, 1930, a group of spirited men — still in their teens — inspired by the famous Easter Uprising in Dublin (1916) — challenge the might of the British Empire by attacking the armouries of the police and the auxiliary force in Chittagong. The action jolts the British Empire and the rebellion spreads like wild fire throughout Bengal. Abhishek Bachchan plays Masterda Surya Sen, the brain behind the assault.

Another film that treated the issue of national pride in an innovative and invigorating way was Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti. The film begins with an English girl Sue (Alice Patten) coming to India to make a film on Bhagat Singh and his comrades. In India, she meets the characters of her documentary film — DJ (Aamir Khan), Karan (Siddharth), Aslam (Kunal Kapoor), Sukhi (Sharman Joshi) and Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), besides Sonia’s fiance Ajay Rathore (R. Madhavan), who is a flight lieutenant with the Indian Air Force.

As they go about researching the subject and visiting the places where these revolutionaries had imbibed the patriotic values, the youngsters realise the importance of the sacrifice made by these martyrs. In the process, they also understand the value of their own freedom.

The film asserted that one could be as radically patriotic today as the young revolutionaries were in their time. The film shows that the protagonists are no less laudable for what they eventually do.

Aamir Khan’s Lagaan also belongs to the school of this patriotic cinema. It takes an anti-colonial stand against the British. Champaner is ruled by Maharaja Puran Singh but the province is under the control of the British. An army garrison is stationed near Champaner and its officer in charge is Captain Russell. When a villager Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) ridicules the game of cricket being played by the British soldiers, Captain Russell makes an offer that if Indians are able to beat his team at the game within three months, the double taxation on crops would be waived off but if they failed, it would be tripled. Bhuvan and other villagers stake everything they have — their livelihood, prestige and glory to fight and beat the British at their own game. Without any violence, the villagers are able to win the battle on a cricket ground.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1942-A Love Story was a romance set against the backdrop of India’s struggle for freedom. The affair between Naren (Anil Kapoor) and Rajjo (Manisha Koirala) exposes a plot to assassinate British General Douglas, whose role was modelled after General Dyer of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. Trapped in a dilemma, Naren has to choose between Rajjo and his father, who is a politician owing allegiance to the British.

Another epoch-making film was Anil Kapoor’s Gandhi — My Father that poignantly conveyed the longing of a hapless father and the frustrations of his son. Mahatma Gandhi (Darshan Jariwala) sacrificed the future of son Harilal (Akshay Khanna) for the sake of the nation. Harilal, who is a model father, son and husband, fails to understand why Gandhi has to place the nation before his own family.

Directed by Ketan Mehta and produced by Bobby Bedi, Mangal Pandey was based on the life and times of Indian sepoy Mangal Pandey, the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against British rule.

Directed by Ramesh Saigal, Filmistan’s Samadhi (1950) was a patriotic drama on Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army. Similarly, Bengali filmmaker Hemen Gupta’s adaptation of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhay’s novel Anand Math told the story of a rebellion of sanyasis against the British rule. The film was a nationalist biography of 18th century sage Satyanand (Prithviraj Kapoor), who led the sanyasi rebellion against the British.

It is true that though the freedom struggle threw up hundreds of martyrs, there are few stories that can match Bhagat Singh’s for sheer heroism, idealism and dare-devilry. Besides Bhagat Singh, the other revolutionaries who have fired the imagination of our filmmakers are Rajguru, Sukhdev and Mangal Pandey.

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